Tuesday, May 06, 2008

Bank holiday Monday was a day well-spent: we went to some local silliness with friends and there were Morris dancers, beer and bbq. It was all very jolly by the beach.

Towards the end, it was starting to rain and the children were already a trifle soggy from paddling so we went into a pub and sat in the back area, out of the way of the general crush. The children sat nicely and we chatted. After a while, M noticed the children were looking a bit fed up, so he started to play a spooky-spider-hand game with them, which cheered them up no end and they were laughing and squealing. I admit they squealed. A few minutes, and we calmed them down again and M tootled off to the loo.

At which point some bloke came past and snarled that we are the kind of parents that make children unwanted in pubs.

I was rather taken aback and had no response but now I do, frustratingly.A. The children were not tearing round the place or causing a nuisance, they just got a bit noisy for a few minutes.B. The pub was absolutely full of people, very loud, you could hardly hear yourself think, with many many adults laughing raucously - so why is a bit of childish laughter and squeaking so very grating, you nasty miserable moon-faced shite bastard?C. If you have a complaint against our parenting, why did you leave it until M had absented himself, since he was the one making them laugh? Could it be you're a big fat coward?